Music Department

Concert excerpts

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Welcome to the Department of Music at Pomona College. We offer a broadly designed
curriculum for students who choose to major or minor in music, students who
wish to explore music one course at a time, and students who desire an ongoing
involvement in music at Pomona. These courses range
from the History of Jazz to A Survey of Western Music, and from Beethoven to
Electronic Music Studio. In addition to a broad range of ensembles the
Department offers private instrumental and vocal lessons for beginning to
advanced level students. They are taught by some of the full-time faculty and by adjunct faculty of nearly 30. Learn more about our faculty.

A rigorous music majorcombining Western and non-Western music is
designed to prepare students for further study in fields of music
including performance, history, theory, composition and ethnomusicology. The
program includes courses designed to meet students’ needs, and also offer
opportunities for close collaboration in performance and research projects.

In addition to offering a full roster of performing opportunities, the department
regularly invites guest artists from around the globe to present free
performances, lecture/demonstrations and other presentations. These events, typically free, are offered throughout the academic year and are open to the public, as are our student ensembles' performances. See the concert calendar. [pdf]

Many of our alumni pursued graduate studies in
music and related fields, and now enjoy successful careers as performers,
professors, arts managers, critics, and more; others have gone on in professional
fields including medicine, law, and finance. If you are interested in learning more about music and success, you might be interested in reading this year's article from The New York Times, "Is Music the Key to Success?"

If you plan to participate in the Music
Department’s curricular offerings in performance and composition, we strongly
urge you to submit a Music Supplement along with your application to the
College. Please read our Prospective
Students page.